Chapter 18 The Second Game

"Ouii... That's some excitement." I said sarcastically.

I looked around and found out that we were in a dense forest. The forest had a calm ambience that relaxed one's mind. I took a deep breath and felt like my worries were gone in an instant. I looked up and saw the beautiful sky covering the woods over the treetops, which created a gorgeous canopy above our head. I also heard the rustling sounds of leaves created by the gentle breeze in the forest. The bright green leaves were guided by the blow of winds and softly fell onto the ground, making it into a soft cushiony carpet as I stepped on it.

There was also a mysterious lazy mist slowly drifting into a cave in front of me. As if it wants me to explore the peculiar cave. I stared into the dark cave, thinking twice before entering it. 'Is this the dungeon, Mr. James was talking about? I better leave it aside first. I don't feel a good aura coming out of it.' I stepped back with caution.

Whoosh.

A bird flew right past in front of my eyes and landed on a tree branch. The bird was chirping in joy as it fed its baby in the nest. I smiled and saw other animals lazing around their home with their loved ones. Suddenly, I remembered the time when my Ma and I were living in our sweet, simple home together, undisturbed. Our perfect home where Ma singlehandedly raised my sister and I. We had many petty fights, but it only made us closer and nearly inseparable. We filled our home with many precious memories only we could relate to. I covered my face and teared up, realizing how Ma and I could never return to those days.

"You crying?" Rona peeked through my hands and asked.

"Ah! I'm okay, Rona. Looking at all of these just reminds me of home." I smiled bitterly.

"So this is what a forest looks like, huh? It's pure and clean. Completely undisturbed by pollution and destruction our ancestors made. Never thought, we got the privilege to enjoy it. It's a pity we couldn't see what nature looks like due to human greed." Isaac bathed himself under nature's warmth.

"Because of that, every day was so hot." I laid on the ground. Immersed myself in the beauty of nature.

While I was enjoying myself, I heard the children's voices behind me.

"Did you see that monster's face? It was so freaking ugly."

"That monster destroyed the tunnel..."

"What was that?"

"I'm so tired."

"That thing is so..." Someone vomited from running too much.

Everyone was confused by what they saw.

Mr. James appeared in front of us and clapped. "Congratulations, little bunnies. It seems there are 50 of you left."

"50? I thought there were 55 of us." I slowly stood up.

"There was. But the monster ate 5 of them." Mr. James laughed.

A girl asked timidly. "B-But why?"

"Who cares. Anyways, let's welcome our little favourite mascot, Looney."

Looney was a little brown worm, sitting on Mr. James's shoulder.

Rona leaned toward me and asked. "Is that edible?"

Isaac scolded Rona. "Monica-killer already killed their first mascot. Now you want to kill their second mascot?"

I ignored Isaac. "I thought Monica was the favourite?"

"Monica, who?" Mr. James smiled.

"Ouii..." I gulped.

Someone raised their hand and asked. "How do we defeat the monsters in the dungeon?"

"Find that out yourself, twerps!" Mr. James hissed.

Isaac whispered. "I guess he still hates us for killing Monica."

"Continuing with the game, there are 2 + 1 stages in the dungeon. Each stage is guarded by a different guardian. Once you have passed the first 2 stages, you will enter the 3rd stage, the boss dungeon, where the core lies. Your mission is to destroy the core. At the end of the game, there will be a surprise waiting for you. No time limit. Any questions, my little bunnies?"

"Why are there only 10 of us? Did you divide us into 5 groups? Why?" A menacing-looking boy asked.

"10? There are only 10 of us?! Where's the rest?" I turned around and counted the number of children there.

"Don't you play games? What game let players travel in such a big group into the dungeon, huh? I even think 10 is too big." Mr. James rolled his eyes.

The menacing boy nodded.

"No more questions? Then pick your weapon in front of you." Mr. James waved his hands, and a blue screen appeared in front of us with a list of weapons. "Please note that you can only take up to 2 weapons, so quickly snatch it while stock last. After you have picked up your weapons, you may enter the dungeon. Good luck, little bunnies. I will see some of you or none on the other side. Of course, alive. Ciao~" Mr. James disappeared.

The children rushed to the blue screen and picked their weapons. Some were fighting among themselves to get the weapon they wanted.

"Give it to me!" Some children were killing each other to get their desired weapons, mostly swords.

Isaac quickly chose his weapons, a gun with a silencer and a katana. "I bet Mr. James is grinning from ear to ear, seeing how they are killing themselves over some weapon."

I scrolled the blue screen, and Isaac said. "If you press the weapon long enough, a description box will appear and show what kind of stats increase or skill it gives the user."

I was amused. "Really?"

"Really?" Rona looked at her gloves and hammer.

"You didn't check, did you, Rona? And tell me, how are you going to switch weapons?" Isaac looked at Rona.

Rona scratched her head and giggled.

I scrolled the weapon list and found Rona's weapons. I pressed on her weapons.

[Blood Berserker gloves]

- HP + 50

- Madness (MP Consumption: 50)

⊹ The user loses HP in exchange, increasing attack enormously

[Blood Berserker axe]

- Attack + 30

- Taunt (MP Consumption: 30)

⊹ Draw opponent attention to the user

"Both are berserker weapons. Is it just me, or does the description look very scary?" I looked at Rona. "It kinda fits her."

"Yay." Rona jumped for joy.

"Those are some killer boost stats." Isaac looked at Rona's weapons in envy.

"What about yours, Isaac?"

"Star Gun and Lost Katana."

[Star Gun]

- Increase hit damage by 20%.

- Drunk Fire (MP Consumption: 150)

⊹ Shoot at random targets

[Lost Katana]

- Increase user attacks by 10%.

- Lost Art (MP Consumption: 1000)

⊹ No description

I read the descriptions and said. "Your weapons are very ambiguous. And why the heck does that Lost Art skill need 1000 MP?"

From the weapon list, I chose a twin dagger and a scythe.

[Cursed Dragon Twin Dagger]

- Increase critical damage by +20%

- Cause bleeding to target

[Grim Reaper Customized Scythe]

- If target HP is lower than or equal to 10%, instant death

- Inflict poison on the target

"My weapon became a long-range weapon with this knife attached to an expandable chain. It reminds me of my nightmare."

"Dangerous passive skills..." Isaac read my weapons description in horror. "I'm sorry for all the insults I've ever said." Isaac kneeled and pled for his life.

"I won't kill you." I patted his shoulder. "So let's go into the dungeon?"

Rona blocked our path. "Status Window. See! See!"

"Status Window?" Isaac and I said, and a blue screen appeared. It displayed my profile and stats.

"Wow! We have one, too?" I got excited and pressed all the buttons on the blue screen.

While I was playing with the status window, I asked Rona. "Rona, how did you know we got this function?"

"The brute man told me. While you were sleeping and Isaac was grumbling like an old man, I had a nice chat with one of the brute men."

"Aww~ That's nice." I squeezed Rona's cheek. "I doubt any human could hate such a lovable person like you, Rona."

Isaac stared at me and said, "Hello?"

"He's not human," I whispered to Rona.

"I heard you, Llyne." Isaac glared at me. "Let's check our stats. Quick."

We took a glance at each of our status windows and were impressed by how many details they had put in. "This is really like those RPG."

"Whoever did this sure put a monumental effort into it for a stupid game like this," Isaac said.

Name: Llyne

Level: 1

HP: 30

MP: 10

Attack: 45

Defence: 12

Stamina: 84

Agility: 55

Luck: 3

[Skill]

Passive Skills:

Precognition Level 1

Stubbornness Level 5

Dodge Level 6

Prank Level 6

Active Skill:

Dash Level 1 (MP Consumption: 5)

Lyndall Level Max (grey out)

"Wow... I have lousy luck. And since when is stubbornness a skill?" I baffled.

"Dodge and prank. So you were a troublemaker in school, and that explains why your stamina is so high. I bet you were busy running away from your teachers all day." Isaac scoffed.

"They were all ex-champion sportsmen." I teared up remembering the time I had my butt whooped by them.

"What's Lyndall?" Rona pointed at my skill board.

"Who knows?" I feigned ignorance.

Name: Isaac

Level: 1

HP: 28

MP: 55

Attack: 27

Defence: 25

Stamina: 25

Agility: 32

Luck: 30

[Skill]

Passive Skill:

Tenacity Level 6

Patience Level 5

Active Skill:

Information Gathering Level 7 (MP Consumption: 5)

Hunter's Game Level 3 (MP Consumption: 15)

Eagle's Eye Level 5 (MP Consumption: 5)

"That's one balance stat you got there, Isaac."

"Look at my MP, 55. I can't even use the Lost Art skill that needs 1K."

Name: Rona

Level: 1

HP: 48

MP: 20

Attack: 15

Defence: 38

Stamina: 32

Agility: 12

Luck: 52

[Skill]

Passive Skill:

None

Active Skill:

Merry Go Luck! Level 7 (MP Consumption: 5)

Taunt Level 1 (MP Consumption: 5)

Iron Wall Level 1 (MP Consumption: 5)

Heal! Heal! Heal! Level 1 (MP Consumption: 10)

Love Cherry Level 7 (MP Consumption: 5)

"Conclusion, Rona is a cheat." Isaac burning with jealousy.

"Can't refute that. Now that we are ready, shall we explore the dungeon? I wonder what inside would look like."

"Yay! Adventure time! Food!" Rona quickly ran towards the dungeon.

Isaac grabbed Rona by the collar. "Do we need to put a leash on her?"

I laughed, and we went towards the dungeon together.